1. Background of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a sunscreen preparation of modifiable high screening capability and, more particularly, to such a preparation which is quick drying after topical application to the skin and does not have either tacky or slippery consistency but instead quickly leaves the skin dry, smooth and soft.
2. Description of Related Art
The medical profession has been stating for many years with increasing emphasis that exposure of the human skin to the rays of the sun is dangerous and tends to produce skin cancer if continued. This dangerous condition is exacerbated in certain types of individuals who are more susceptible to skin damage from solar radiation than others and, accordingly, it has been suggested that when individuals are to be in the sunlight for any significant period of time, that they not only wear proper clothing to block out the sun's rays from major skin surfaces, but also to protect exposed parts of the body (e.g., the face, neck, hands and arms) by topical application of a cream or other preparation that contains a block or screening material to reduce the amount of radiation reaching the skin.
In sporting activities such as golf, tennis, and hiking, for example, that take place in open air where the player is exposed to the direct rays of the sun, this requirement for protection from the sun rays is increased. For example, a typical round of golf will last approximately four hours during which time the individual, on a clear day, may be directly exposed to the sun's rays at least 70-80 percent of that time.
Typically, nowadays individuals engaging in sports apply a sun preparation of either the sunblock or sunscreen category at least to the hands, face and neck since these areas are preferably not covered by clothing during participation in many sports. However, common complaints concerning such preparations are that they do not dry quickly and therefore leave the hands slippery for an extended period of time which impedes proper gripping or other utilization of a sporting implement such as a golf club or tennis racket. Still further, other sun products are frequently objected to as being tacky such that gripping of a sport implement is unpleasant or difficult which disturbs concentration of someone engaged in sport. At the least, these prior sun preparations interfere with the concentration ability of the one engaging in the sport which destroys a certain amount of competence from that source alone. There is also the good possibility that if the sunscreen product results in slippery or tacky hands, that the individual will use nothing rather than the offending product thereby leaving the skin of the individual at risk.
It is therefore desirable to provide a sun preparation particularly for topical application to the skin of a sports enthusiast which quickly dries and does not have an unpleasant to the touch feel such as slipperiness, tackiness or other unpleasant tactile sensation. Such a quick drying preparation will therefore enhance proper handling of sports implements such as golf clubs, tennis rackets. In addition, there are certain individuals who have a tendency when normally engaged in a sports activity to quickly develop wetness of the palms and fingers and would, therefore, benefit from a sun preparation that would reduce substantially to the zero point this tendency toward hand perspiration.
Additionally, it is desirable to achieve a broader frequency spectrum of protection and this typically requires two materials referred to as UVA and UVB sunscreen agents where a UVA agent is most effective for the 320-400 nm wavelengths and a UVB agent more readily absorbs ultraviolet rays in the 250-320 nm range.